Pride of Ylisse
by metallover
Summary: AU. One-Shot. In a futuristic version of Ylisse the Southtown Military Academy is where the best and brightest from around the world are sent to study the ways of war. But with rumblings in neighboring Plegia, what will happen to Morgan and her squad of cadets when the hammer finally falls and war breaks out? A (very) AU retelling of Awakening's first chapter


**(DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, places or anything else; they remain property of Nintendo, Intelligent Systems and Atlus. This is a work of fanfiction and love: please don't sue me.)**

* * *

 **The Pride of Ylisse**

* * *

A quiet, idyllic early morning greeted anyone who would have been idle enough to look out of their windows. The sun crested the plain of a training ground, a track and field oval currently occupied by a small handful of teenagers that had been there since well before dawn running laps. The sound of their running chants echoed over the quiet buildings not far away; dormitories housing even more students. Some began to stir, now that the sun's first rays had crested the horizon; either waking from slumber or slowly slinking off to bed after a night of 'fun'. It was a holiday, after all. There were to be no classes.

But Southtown's branch of the Ylissean Royal Military Academy never slept, even on holidays. Numerous clubs and groups still met and trained and studied, even on their holidays. They were, after all, the pride of the Ylissean people.

However, the idyllic sunrise and early hour didn't stop the cacophony of an alarm clock from splitting the serene atmosphere in one particular room, the tiny thing's shrill electronic screech like nails on a chalkboard to the exhausted mind of the room's sole occupant.

From beneath a thick duvet a single groping hand reached out, slim and feminine, flopping about while trying to reach for the clock. The hand's owner reached too far, and with a surprised yelp the young woman fell from her bed onto the cold floor. Or, as close to the floor as she could get given the piles of clothes, both clean and dirty, and other detritus that had begun to crop up in her room. Piles of books and dirty plates teetered dangerously in various spots between the clothes, as well as a few plastic video game and movie cases. A small flatscreen TV doubled as her computer monitor, perched proudly atop the only clean spot in the room; her desk. Somewhere in the piles there was a handheld console, too, but she hadn't seen it in a few days… A poster of one of Chon'sin's most famous exports, the songstress and idol Kiria Kurono hung on one of her walls, the smoldering young woman's gaze sweeping over the entire mess as she held a microphone stand like a weapon before her. The poster was one of many adorning the walls, the haphazard fashion that the sheets of paper were hung in adding to the air of chaos in the small space. Out of all of them, though, Kiria Kurono's was hung perfectly straight. At some point even her prized, limited launch-day-only poster of Yashiro Tsurugi had fallen and become askew.

Morgan sat up, yawning wide and blinking her bleary eyes clear as she remembered she had purposely set the clock up on the other side of the room so that she couldn't oversleep again. A mop of shoulder-length brown hair swayed back and forth as she rose, less a standing motion and more a sort of falling-upwards kind of movement, before plodding over to the clock and hitting the off button with great relish. Clad only in the oversized white shirt her father had sent her, displaying the squad symbol of the elite Shepherds on its breast, that she wore in lieu of proper pajamas, Morgan gave a slight shiver as she contemplated escaping the cold back into her nice warm bed.

The small electronic numbers on the clock read '06:17'. She was up early. There was a reason for this…

Giving another great yawn, Morgan decided that she wouldn't have tortured herself like this for no reason. There had to be a point to her getting up so early on a holiday. With that in mind, she grabbed the closest pair of jeans from one of the piles on the ground, gave them a cursory sniff, and pulled them on with a shrug. She spotted her favorite shirt, the one with short sleeves and emblazoned with her current favorite band's logo on the front and back, atop a pile she was moderately certain was clean, and pulled off her Shepherds-shirt. As the teenager bent to retrieve the tight black shirt she hesitated for a moment, looking down at her modest bust before sighing and pulling the new shirt on. Not like anyone would even notice if she didn't wear a bra, given her almost laughable cup-size…

Morgan shook her head, slapping both palms to her cheeks as she tried to focus. Now was not the time for such thoughts! Besides, Severa's boobs were way smaller than hers!

With that guilty little thought about her friend at the back of her mind, a grinning Morgan grabbed the old service jacket her father had sent her complete with bullet holes still in the side, slung it over her shoulder and exited her room.

* * *

Morgan shuffled mindlessly down the hallway her squad's rooms were off of and into the squad's refractory, doing her best to wake herself up as she did so. A few of the others were already awake, Severa and Kjelle already chatting over coffee in the sitting area while Owain, who was no doubt still awake from last night if his rumpled uniform was any indication, was making himself a cup as Morgan walked in. He wore the same uniform they all did, minus the usual blue tie; a formal white button-down shirt and deep blue pants, to match the tie. Simple, but classy. Once they became seniors next year they would finally get to wear the shirts with the gold trim like Lucina and her squad, something Morgan secretly looked forward to.

Noire timidly glanced up from where she was watching the morning news on the communal TV as Morgan stepped into the room, offering her a cheery wave before going back to the report about mounting tensions between Ylisse and Plegia, resting her chin on her knees. It was no secret that she and her mother, who was still one of the Shepherds like all their parents were, had defected from Plegia. Morgan herself was half-Plegian, her famous father having defected before Tharja had. Honestly, though, Morgan identified more with her mother's Chon'sin heritage. Still, though, it wasn't easy to hear about the rising tensions between the nations for anyone. Noire was wearing her usual plain clothes, a forest green singlet and baggy dark brown cargo pants at least two sizes too big for her, held in place on her scrawny hips with a plain leather belt. What she kept in those deep pockets no one knew…

The news cut to an ad break as Morgan crossed the room, showing a commercial for a new ongoing series she and a couple of the others, mostly Owain, Cynthia and surprisingly Severa, had been watching. Unfortunately Cynthia was in Ylisstol visiting with her maternal Grandparents, so she'd have to settle for watching it alone then video-calling the others to talk about how cool it was. A blonde girl flipped across the TV screen, impaling a zombie-vampire thing and Morgan's tired brain was just awake enough to process how cool the moves were. "Unf. Can't wait for the next episode."

Noire shuddered, having been scared off after the first episode. "How you guys can watch stuff like _Horror Hunter Angel_ I'll never know…"

"Where's Inigo, anyway?" Morgan asked sleepily as she beelined for the coffee, grinning a little to herself.

Kjelle scoffed as Severa's perpetual frown became more severe. Kjelle had obviously just come from a workout, if the tight, damp singlet and running shorts were any indication. Her short brown hair was still slick with sweat, despite the towel draped around her shoulders, and her toned, muscular arms flexed as she leaned one elbow onto the table, turning to address Morgan.

"Saw him slinking in just as I was going out for my run at five," she said.

"Really, if he would put half as much effort into his studies as he did man-whoring it up he'd be better than the rest of us in a week," Severa added sourly, pulling out her phone, the latest model of course, and checking it for… whatever it was she checked it for when she pulled it out.

The acerbic girl who was known around the campus as having an acid tongue flicked one of her deep red twintails over one perfect shoulder and the simple white sweater she was wearing, sliding her phone back into her pocket. A black skirt and matching stockings beneath her simple black leather boots completed the fashionable girl's look as she rested her chin on one palm, huffing a sigh.

Morgan made a non-committal sound as she lined up next to Owain, waiting with the currently zombified blonde boy for the next pot of coffee. It was no secret that their squadmate liked to sneak into Southtown to spend time with his numerous girlfriends, sometimes disappearing for days at a time as he indulged in his carnal desires with them. For all that, though, he was solid as a rock during the live-fire exercises, not to mention a great shot. Inigo was fearless, as evidenced by the way he constantly flouted the rules and, even more brazenly, hit on the girls in his squad. Kjelle had come close to throttling him twice now, and Severa had not-so-subtly shot him a few times during paintball exercises.

"Still alive?" she asked Owain discretely.

Owain nodded, yawning as the coffee maker finally chimed 'ready'. With deft, practiced hands Owain pulled the jug free of the apparatus and poured two cups for himself and Morgan before replacing it, all while still yawning. Without a second thought Owain began to drink his coffee black, the bitter liquid clearly doing much to wake him up as the light returned to his green eyes.

"Gawds, do you ever sleep!?" Severa snapped at Owain.

"Not when there are so many that need the protection of I, Owain Dark!" he declared, brandishing his coffee cup like a sword.

"You were up all night playing those stupid games again, weren't you?" Severa deadpanned.

"Not just any stupid game," Owain said with a chuckle. "I was playing the MMO Sacred Stones, the greatest online RPG experience since World of-"

"And nobody cares," Severa huffed, turning away from him. "We've got one idiot that stays up all night playing games and another idiot that goes out all night partying. No middle ground, but they both end up sleeping all day."

Morgan remained silent, tacitly deciding not to mention the fact she'd been up half the night raiding with Owain in SS…

"Well sucks to be Inigo, then," Kjelle shrugged. "He misses out on meeting our transfer students-"

Morgan made a high-pitched squealing sound, causing the other four members of her squad to jump as she hopped up and down on the spot, heedless of how close she came to spilling her precious, nourishing, life-giving coffee.

"I knew there was a reason I was getting up so early on a holiday!" she declared.

"So you had to burst our ear-drums!?" Severa snapped.

"Well, now I'm awake…" Owain mumbled.

Kjelle just rubbed her ears, frowning and shaking her head. Noire looked up, her eyes and the top of her head the only thing visible above the back of the chair she was sitting on.

"Sorry," Morgan mumbled sheepishly, hiding her blush in her coffee cup.

Clearing her throat, Morgan tried again in a much more subdued tone. "So when are they arriving?"

* * *

A little over an hour later and the squad, minus an obviously hung-over Inigo, had reassembled in the common room and refractory to meet the new students. Owain joined them, though, still bleary eyed but freshly showered now and wearing his favorite yellow and black patterned hoodie over a pair of baggy jeans.

The students were, excitingly, from both Hoshido and Nohr. Both were countries on the opposite side of the world, and until very recently had been locked in a bitter war over territory for more than twenty years. It had taken the efforts of a man named Corrin, from the royal bloodline of a nation that no longer existed named Valla, the stop the incessant fighting and bring peace to the beleaguered continent. At least, that's what all the textbooks said. Morgan was looking forward to getting some first-hand insight into the situation over there.

Apparently the squad of Senior Third Year students would be getting a couple of transfer students as well; no doubt Lucina and her squad were all lined up and as excited as Morgan's squad were.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded the door as the sound of an engine cut off outside the small building, raptly watching for the first sign of their homeroom teacher. The door swung open, and a sprightly woman of early middle age waltzed in, her bright red hair swishing with her over-exaggerated movements. On the lapel of her smart pant-suit was a pin of the same symbol as was on Morgan's pajamas; the Symbol of the Shepherds.

"Oh man it is a long drive from the airport!" Anna complained. "Whoever brings me coffee will have their grades bumped up on the next midterms!"

Owain and Noire both visibly perked up, their eyes meeting before they both darted towards the counter with the appliances. Due to his fatigue, Owain arrived a fraction of a second behind the skinny raven-haired girl, frowning as she grinned sheepishly and hugged the coffee pot to her chest. Anna chuckled, sinking to a hip as she stood just inside the doorway and grinned her trademark smile. Of course, she was always smiling, even when she was chewing someone out, but this one seemed genuine.

Four more people followed Anna into the common room, each carrying a large duffel or suitcase.

"First Junior Squad, meet your new squadmates," Anna announced in a sing-song voice. "I'd like to introduce to you all Ophelia, Soleil and Sophie from Nohr, and Midori from Hoshido. Make nice, be friends and ta-ta!"

With that the red-head was gone, leaving a perplexed gaggle of students staring at the space she had vacated before looking back and forth between each other. Except for Noire, who was left holding a steaming coffee cup and looking crestfallen next to a smug Owain. Morgan took the initiative, instantly filling the space that their teacher had vacated.

"Hi!" she chirped. "I'm Morgan, the squad leader! Nice to meet you!"

A round of introductions from the rest of squad followed, Ophelia giving Owain a strange look at the blonde boy's usual theatrical nature. But the four transfers stepped forward all the same when Morgan stepped aside, inviting them to join them in the refractory.

"Coffee's not so bad once you get used to it," she laughed. "It's military grade, though, so it's either weak and way too hot, or cold and almost solid. Never any middle ground. Make sure you get in quick if Owain's making it, though. He seems to have the knack down. Speaking of, Owain, can you take their bags to their rooms?"

"Of course, Commander!" Owain half-shouted, practically throwing the four large bags up into his arms. As he stumbled, clearly still exhausted from his night of gaming, Kjelle sighed and stepped forward. She yanked two of the bags from his arms and stalked away, muttering to herself about being 'the only one taking this seriously'. Owain just gave the four new girls a sheepish grin, following the athletic girl down the hallway to their dorm rooms. As all this happened Morgan had brewed four steaming cups of coffee, perfect for taking the edge off the late spring morning chill, and held them out to the new girls. Inigo was going to have a field day when he found out that all four of the transfers were women. It would be like Nagamas for him.

"Wow, this place is great!" Soleil commented, leaning back against the counter as she sipped from her cup.

The Nohrian girl had long pink hair hanging down the back of the quilted jacket she was wearing, its cut decidedly military compared to the clothes of the Ylisseans. Her tight black shirt beneath the open jacket showed off her figure, something Morgan couldn't help but notice with a twinge of jealousy. As if she didn't have enough trouble getting the guys' attention…

"I know, right?" Sophie added. "We didn't even get a communal TV for all the cadets to share in Nohr. But you guys have one in your dorm? That's awesome!"

Sophie's black leather jacket was lighter than Soleil's, cut higher and clearly designed for riding. So she would be acting as their new outrider on one of the 'Cavalier' war bikes, no doubt. Her short, pale blue hair was styled in a sort of bob, no doubt to make it easier to manage when she was riding.

"You can have one in your room, too," Morgan grinned. "Long as you buy it."

Ophelia perked up from where she was watching the news over Noire's chair, the blonde girl grinning expectantly. She flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder, her revealing low-cut top bouncing with the motions. Morgan noticed that she was also wearing what seemed to be black hot-pants, again leaving very little to the imagination, but Ophelia didn't seem to notice the Ylissean chill. Or she ignored it.

"Really?" she asked.

Soleil smirked, moving to throw an arm over the blonde's shoulder. "At last, you can finally play those games instead of reading about them!"

"Hey, I read other stuff, too!"

"Like what?"

"Like… fantasy and sci-fi novels… and… comics…"

"Ooh, you're so cute when you talk nerd…"

Sophie cleared her throat and Ophelia blushed, shoving Soleil off of her shoulder and inching away as the other girl laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly and shooting Ophelia an apologetic look.

From behind Morgan Midori sighed, cradling her cup of coffee without drinking it. The Hoshidan girl had dark green hair tied up into two little pigtails at the side of her head, far shorter than Severa's. She also wore a strange wrap-around tunic sort of thing instead of a top, similar to the kimonos that Morgan had seen back home in Chon'sin.

"Something wrong with the coffee?" she asked. "I can go get Owain to make you another one…"

"N-no!" the Hoshidan girl said quickly, taking a sip. "It's fine! I just… in Hoshido we drink tea, and I was just realizing… how far away from home we are…"

The five girls grew somber for a moment, Noire turning to glance up over the back of her chair again at the silence. In the background an advertisement for another popular Chon'sin idol played on the TV while the actress drank sparkling mineral water or some other such crap, one of Tsubasa Oribe's cheery songs totally contrasting the mood. With a sigh Severa stepped forward, crossing her arms and sinking to a hip.

"You know what this calls for? Shopping. C'mon, we'll show you around town. Owain! Get your butt out here! I'm gonna need you to carry stuff!"

There was a tired whimper from the hallway, Owain's voice sounding totally exhausted. "But I haven't even slept yet! Why do you hate me!? At least wake Inigo up, too, so I'm not suffering alone!"

* * *

In Southtown's busy central market square the four new transfer students let out appreciative oohs and ahhs as they looked around, the bus that had delivered them to the city pulling back into traffic behind them. The rest of Morgan's squad, including a very put-upon Owain and a barely conscious Inigo, were arrayed behind the transfers, glancing at their phones or the crowds. Being that it was a holiday there was a lot of foot traffic, the street behind them packed with cars and civilian models of the 'Cavalier' and heavier 'Paladin' bikes that the Ylissean army used.

"I'm gonna go look at the game store," Owain yawned.

"Still my aching blood and take me with you!" Ophelia declared.

Owain blinked a few times, his tired mind clearly trying to comprehend what he'd just seen, before breaking into a massive grin. "Of course, my new companion! However please, beware my sword-hand! I cannot always control it at times! Wanna go to the bookstore afterwards?"

"Do I!? We shall ascend victorious in this battle! It is written in the stars! Let us be off!"

"W-wait for me!" Noire called, hurrying to catch up with them. "I want to go to the b-bookstore, too! Wait!"

The two of them wandered into the crowd, speaking as if they were reciting lines from a play or a bad anime or something similar as the raven-haired sniper followed. Morgan watched them go, grinning and wishing she could join them, but she had three more transfers to worry about.

"Oh sweet merciful Dusk Dragon now there's two of them…" Sophie muttered, watching the blonde pair disappear into the crowd with one brow quirked.

Severa stepped forward, dragging Inigo by the arm. "Well, since my bag carrier's just wandered off you've got the job."

"Goodie," Inigo muttered darkly.

The steel-haired playboy shook Severa off his arm, straightening the simple pale-pink button-down shirt he was wearing. The top few buttons were undone, showing off his toned chest and the gold chains he wore. Morgan always thought he looked a little tacky, but judging from how often he snuck either into the other girls' dorms or into town the look worked for him.

"Why am I even here?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Squad bonding," Morgan supplied helpfully. "We got four new members. That means we need to get to know each other."

Inigo glanced up, starting as he noticed Soleil behind the squad leader as if for the first time. His frown instantly turned into an easy smile, and before Morgan could even try to tell him not to he'd slipped around her and sidled up to the pink-haired girl.

"You know, I think I agree with Morgan," Inigo practically purred. "I think we should take the… bonding… very seriously. And I'd love to get to know you better…"

Soleil gave a little squeak, totally at odds with the flirtatious nature Morgan had seen from her so far, and ducked behind Sophie. Inigo just laughed, turning his grin on the taller girl.

"Well, I won't say no if you want to bring your friend. Hi there. Inigo. Vanguard. How you doin?"

Kjelle stomped forward, slapping Inigo in the side of the head. "Down boy. You struck out." There was no strength to the blow, though, and Inigo just shrugged.

"Ah, another time, then. Alright, Severa, I'm all yours. Be gentle."

The redhead rolled her eyes and shook her head, glaring at him. Midori stepped forward, though, timidly glancing at Inigo before looking to Severa. "Uh, could you show me where I can get some local clothes? I feel like I stick out a little…"

Severa's face broke out into a radiant smile at the thought of having someone to shop with, rather than just wait on her, and nodded. "Of course I do, duh! Come on, there's this great little boutique just around the corner that have the cutest boots! Then we can do something about your wardrobe. I saw a place up the street with some nice tops, so we can head there afterwards… Inigo, get your butt in gear, let's go!"

"Please just kill me," Inigo sighed, shooting an imploring look at Morgan before following the two girls into the press of the crowd.

"I guess it's just us, then," Morgan said with a shrug and a smug grin. No way was he getting out of his comeuppance for sneaking out that easily.

Kjelle, Soleil and Sophie nodded, Soleil emerging from behind her friend and shooting a weak glare at Inigo's retreating figure. Morgan chose not to question her behavior, though; if there was one thing she'd learned in the last three years, it was every member of her squad had their own particular brand of crazy.

"Anything you guys want to do?" she asked.

"We kinda skipped breakfast," Sophie said. "Well, I mean, it was plane food, so…"

"Yeesh, yeah, say no more," Morgan shuddered. Chon'sin was a long way away, so she was fairly familiar with plane food. "There's a small café next to the CD store I wanted to check out. Sound good?"

"Aye-aye, miss squad leader, ma'am," Soleil said with a lazy salute.

* * *

Morgan sipped from the small ceramic mug in her hands, relishing the creamy smoothness of the high quality coffee as it washed over her tongue. It was a common joke in the military to never come between a soldier and their coffee; most cadets in the Southtown campus were a living testament to this saying. Four cafés on campus, and they all sold out of coffee before the end of the day. The kiosk stores and supermarkets in and around the campus received daily deliveries of the precious brown liquid. Most cafés in town knew almost all of the students by sight, if not by name.

Three contented sighs echoed Morgan's own as the others sipped their own drinks. A black, unsweetened cup for Kjelle, a latté with a shot of hazelnut syrup for Sophie, and a café-au-lait for Soleil, a surprisingly feminine choice. Morgan's own cup had a simple flat white, something that she had unceremoniously dumped half the table's sugar stock into once it had arrived. Morgan's father had always said that you could tell a lot about a person from the coffee they drank.

The four girls were sitting at a table in the back, close to the counter that had the huge, boxy coffee maker on it. The café itself was nothing special; a bunch of tables crammed into the interior space and even more of them spread out in front of the storefront, large plate glass windows offering a great view of the market square and beyond, and letting plenty of natural light into the space. The décor was nothing special; 'artfully understated' she would call it. A few abstract paintings adorned the walls, but aside from that the rest was simple functionality, something Morgan could appreciate.

"So how are you finding Southtown?" she asked after a moment spent enjoying their drinks.

"It's a little warmer than Nohr," Sophie said. "Apparently it gets hotter, too? Miss Anna said something to that effect in the car."

"Yeah, winter only just ended," Morgan supplied. "It'll shoot up to the high eighties in summer."

Soleil let out a low whistle, grinning ear to ear. "That means bikinis, right? We're close to the beach, so that means bikinis, right?"

"I don't know why you're so scared of Inigo, you two would get along so well," Kjelle deadpanned over her cup.

Soleil just cleared her throat awkwardly, blushing and trying to hide in her cup.

"Soleil is afraid of men," Sophie supplied helpfully. "Especially flirty men."

"Sophie!" the pink haired girl hissed, her blush growing.

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Morgan shrugged, doing her best not to grin and failing miserably. "Most of the squad are girls. And I'll make sure I have a word to Inigo about behaving himself. And if he doesn't, Kjelle you can have a word with him."

The bigger girl smirked, shaking her head a little. "You know, I'd swear he's starting to like it when I kick his ass…"

The girls laughed, the sound being lost in the din of the café. It was busy at this time of day, so soon after lunch. People liked to eat and then relax with a decent cup of coffee, Morgan guessed. She saw a few familiar faces from the school, too; a lot were students not enrolled in the military program, but she saw a few other cadets from her year and the year below them in the crowd. For some strange reason she never saw the seniors out and about in town. Morgan liked to guess that it was because the coffee they were supplied was just that much better than theirs…

A few people in the café began moving to the windows, the tone of conversation in the small building changing subtly and a low undertone of worry beginning to seep into the carefree atmosphere.

"What's going on outside?" Kjelle asked, ever the most observant of the squad.

"Meh, probably another anti-Plegia rally or some other such crap," Morgan mumbled disinterestedly.

"The Ylisseans really don't like the Plegians, huh?" Sophie asked.

Morgan shrugged. "It goes both ways. I don't really get it. It's like hatred's bred into them."

Kjelle snorted, quirking one brow at Morgan's statement but remaining otherwise silent on the matter as she craned her neck, trying to see through the crowd at the windows.

"Sounds familiar," Sophie muttered darkly, sipping from her cup again.

Soleil sighed theatrically, throwing an arm over both Morgan and Sophie's shoulders and drawing them into an awkward group hug with a big grin on her face.

"C'mon, we're supposed to be having fun here!" she laughed. "Leave all the tense political crap for when we graduate!"

"Gah, Soleil my coffee! You're gonna make me spill it!" Sophie shouted indignantly.

"Help, help, I need an adult!" Morgan laughed.

The girls grew silent when a shadow fell over their table, Morgan glancing up to see another pair of familiar faces.

"Will! Isabella! What's up?"

A tall, plain and scruffy looking boy and a thin waif-like girl with long pale blue hair, wearing a simple flowing white top and bright purple leggings, looked down at them. They both wore old surplus military jackets over their clothes, both displaying Rubinelle flags on the arms. Will grinned, crossing his arms.

"No, no, we can wait," he chuckled.

"Will wanted to say hello," Isabella said, her voice soft and almost lost in the din of the café.

The older boy rolled his eyes before grinning again. Will was from the Third Junior Squad, in the same class as Morgan and her squad. Isabella was a year younger, though, still a Freshman that hadn't been assigned a squad yet. They both came from Rubinelle, one of the Ylissean states in the north closer to Regna Ferox, and were practically inseparable. They both claimed they were just friends, but Morgan knew it was only a matter of time.

"You two out on a date?" Morgan asked, drawing out the word 'date'.

Will frowned, blushing and looking away. Isabella quirked her head to the side before looking up at Will for confirmation, who simply blushed heavier. Morgan, Soleil and Sophie burst out laughing, Will letting out another sigh.

"I just wanted to come over and introduce ourselves to the new girls," he said, clearly trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Right. Southtown's power-couple. Gotcha," Soleil said.

Will groaned again, hiding his face with his hands, but Isabella just furrowed her brow. "I was hoping to get to you before Morgan ruined you, but clearly I'm too late."

"That's right, we're a lost cause," Soleil laughed, her gaze turning to Isabella. "How about you come and get lost with us, cutie?"

"Down girl," Sophie sighed.

"The last thing we needed was another Inigo," Morgan groaned.

"But she's so cute!" Soleil crooned.

"Okay, sorry Will, this is getting a little…" Morgan began, trailing off when Kjelle finally got up.

"Kjelle, what the hell is so interesting outside?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know," she started. "Something's going-"

Whatever else she was about to say was lost when the ground shook and the windows facing the street shattered with an ear-splitting crash. Morgan had just enough time to scream "Down!" before Kjelle spun and tacked her to the comparative safety of the floor. Morgan slowly rose a moment later, her ears still ringing and Kjelle rolling off her.

"Squad… ugh… First Squad sound off!" she managed to choke out.

"Alive," Kjelle groaned.

"Here!" Sophie said.

"What the hell was that?" Soleil asked.

Both Nohrian girls emerged from beneath the table, seemingly unharmed. Isabella stuck her head up, too her eyes wide and terrified.

"Will?" she asked in a small voice.

"I'm okay," the boy groaned. "Just… bumped my head."

Morgan looked over to where Will was pulling himself up on a nearby table, shaking his head as he held a hand to his brow. A small trail of blood ran down his face from his hairline, and without a second thought Morgan tore a strip from the bottom of her shirt to act as a bandage.

"Squad, spread out, check the civvies for wounded," she said. "Kjelle, recon. Find out what's going on."

"On it," the taller girl said, already moving through the ruined café.

Sophie and Soleil moved into the dazed café patrons, leaving Morgan with Will and Isabella. As gently as she could Morgan lowered Will into the closest chair, Isabella hovering with a worried expression.

"He'll be fine," Morgan assured the younger girl. "He's thick-skulled."

"Kinda glad I decided it was worth the abuse to meet the transfers," Will mumbled. "We were sitting near the windows."

Isabella nodded, taking one of Will's hands in hers as Morgan inspected his injury. She pursed her lips at this, but shook her head.

"Looks clean, but you'll need stitches."

"I always seem to need stitches when you're involved," he laughed.

Morgan shook her head and grinned, wrapping the strip she'd torn from her shirt around his head.

"By now you'd think you'd have learned to keep your head down," she chuckled. "Both of you stay here and stay low, okay?"

Isabella nodded, taking Will's arm and helping him down to the floor. "Be careful, Morgan," he called after her. She grinned over her shoulder before joining Kjelle squatting near the broken windows. The Market Square was a mess, the paved surface destroyed by whatever had exploded. On the other side of the square three large vans rolled up, each one disgorging at least ten armed men. Ten armed men that began to indiscriminately open fire into the square and the surrounding shops.

"What the hell is this?" Kjelle growled.

"Terrorism, you think?" Morgan asked.

"Doesn't matter right now. We need to get the hell out of here," Kjelle responded.

"Agreed," Morgan nodded. "We get the civilians out through the back, follow after them and try to link up with the rest of the squad-"

She hesitated, her phone going off in her pocket in a screech of guitars and drums. One look at the caller ID pushed a relieved sigh from her chest.

"Severa?" she asked, answering the call.

"What was that explosion?" her friend asked.

"Unknown. Where are you? Are Midori and Inigo still with you?"

"Yeah, they're here. We're two blocks out, heading from the south."

"You know the café next to the CD store?"

"Yeah, you've dragged me there that many times."

"Meet us behind it. We need to get to Owain and the others."

"… Acknowledged."

The call went dead, Morgan returning her phone to her pocket. It was funny to her how fast they switched to the military communication protocols that had been drummed into them during Comms Classes.

"Get the civilians out through the back," she called to the two Nohrians. "Everyone that can move go now, head south into the city. Is anyone seriously injured?"

"A few lacerations from the glass. One serious, but we've managed to stop the bleeding for now. Three dead," Sophie reported in a thick voice.

Morgan closed her eyes for a moment, nodding. "Get everyone into the alley and heading south."

Before Morgan could get up and help with the evacuation Kjelle grabbed her and pulled her back to the floor, their boots crunching on the broken glass.

"Get down!" Kjelle hissed.

Two more vans like the ones across the square had rolled up right outside of the café, pouring men out into the market. Morgan got a look at them, surprised to find more than a few women among their number, as well. All were uniformly shabby, and all wore black scarves around their faces. Without further word, the new arrivals began to array themselves in front of the closest storefronts and opened fire. They were wielding older pattern rifles and shotguns, nothing that a civilian couldn't buy. No military-grade hardware, at the least.

"Go!" Morgan whispered to Soleil and Sophie. "Get them outside! Quietly!"

The two girls nodded, hushing the terrified customers and staff and continuing to usher them out through the back. Morgan glanced up as two more of the attackers approached the café, Kjelle grinning wickedly.

"One for you, one for me," she whispered, before rolling beneath the window and to the other side. The broken glass cut through the soft fabric of the hoodie she'd thrown over her workout clothes, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead she pulled one of the blunt knives that had been on the tables of the café out of her pocket, holding it like a combat knife. Morgan looked around, the most workable weapon she could find being a long shard of glass from the window.

Morgan held a finger to her lips, Kjelle nodding at the signal. The squad leader glanced up, realizing that the attackers were going to basically poke their heads into the café. Amateurs, then, she reasoned. Fanatics of some sort, with no real training. Easy pickings for the pride of the Ylissean military school program. Kjelle moved first, jumping up and grabbing her foe's gun, using that and the element of surprise to drag him through the broken window and into the café. She pounced on him, burying her appropriated knife in his eye before he could even scream. Morgan moved a fraction of a second later, leading with her shard of glass and slashing at the wrist of her own foe. He yelped, reeling back, but Morgan grabbed the wounded arm he'd released his gun with and dragged him into the café as well. He landed on his face, and Morgan jammed the shard into his neck. Blood spurted, and Morgan's eyes went wide.

She'd just killed for the first time, and it terrified her how easy it had been.

"Morgan, get it together!" Kjelle hissed.

The other girl had already shouldered the butt of her own appropriated rifle, and Morgan worked quickly to disentangle the other weapon's strap from its former owner before they retreated out the back of the café. It had been hard, and the fact that her hands were still shaking hadn't made it any easier.

More gunshots were echoing from the other shops nearby, and Morgan did her best to shut out the screaming. They followed the alley south, Sophie sticking her head around the nearest corner before urging them on with a quick wave. They emerged onto another street to find the civilians were in full exodus, fleeing from the shooting and the screaming. It was exactly what Morgan wanted to do, but she couldn't just run away.

To her relief, though, she and Kjelle found Severa and her group waiting with the others. Midori looked terrified from where she was inspecting the wound to Will's head, Isabella watching on intently. Inigo was standing behind Severa and the two Nohrian girls, all looking expectantly at Morgan and Kjelle. Severa recoiled, though, when she caught sight of the squad leader.

"Morgan, you're covered in blood!" she half shouted.

"I'm fine," Morgan assured her. "He didn't… want to give me the gun."

"I'll bet," Severa deadpanned.

"What now?" Kjelle asked, her question punctuated by more shots from the square.

Morgan shook her head a little.

"It won't take them long to move into the city," she reasoned. "There's no telling how many people they'll hurt if they do, or how long it'll take to ferret them out. We… we need to keep them occupied. Give them something to shoot at until the City Guard arrive. Maybe take some of them out. More importantly, though, we need to find Owain, Noire and Ophelia."

"What are we supposed to do? There's seven of us and only two guns," Soleil pointed out.

"Nine," Will spoke up. He climbed to his feet unassisted, rolling out his neck. "Isabella and I can help. We're not about to run from this."

Behind him Isabella nodded, standing next to Midori.

"Okay then," Morgan said. "Two teams. Me, Severa, Sophie and Soleil will try to get more guns. Kjelle, take everyone else and find Owain and the others. Meet back here straight away."

"Try his cell," Severa suggested.

"I got it," Inigo said, pulling his phone out.

"Meet back here, try not to engage," Morgan said. "And please, be careful, guys."

* * *

Shots pinged off the brick wall above Morgan as she ducked down behind one of the large stone garden beds that dotted the square. She cursed, pressing her back to the stone surface and glancing at Severa behind her. Sophie and Soleil had gone ahead of them, leaving the two to cover them as they retreated to one of the nearby alleyways with their arms full of weapons for the others.

"Gawds! Just when I thought this was going to be easy! This is all Owain's fault!"

Morgan smirked, lifting her rifle and firing blindly above the garden.

"I'm sure he's worried about you, too," she laughed.

Severa growled, emulating Morgan and emptying her clip in the vague direction of their attackers. They had found a lot of guns and a lot more ammo in the vans. Another amateur mistake by the attackers. It was like they wanted organized resistance or something.

"Dammit, where are the City Guard!?" Severa muttered to herself. With quick, practiced motions she ejected the spent clip, slotting another into place and loading the rifle.

"There's a good chance that this isn't the only pace being attacked," Morgan pointed out, reloading her own weapon.

Severa froze, her face going slack. "I didn't think of that."

"Which is why," Morgan said, punctuating her statement by pulling the cocking handle back and releasing it with a satisfying 'chack', "we hold them here as long as we can."

"You watch too many movies, you know that?"

"You know you love it."

Before Severa could retort further Morgan spun, lifting her head above the garden bed just long enough to check the enemy's positions before ducking back under a hail of fire.

"They really don't like us," Morgan said unnecessarily.

"They're also really bad shots," Severa pointed out. "Most of them aren't even hitting the flower bed."

The shooting stopped at once, and Morgan barked out a laugh. "They're not timing their shots or reloads, either!"

Morgan rose onto her knees, resting her appropriated rifle on the lip of the flower bed and opening fire. From this distance she couldn't really use the weapon to its full effect; the attackers were on the other side of the square, after all. But she had been trained, and with something solid to rest her gun on her accuracy was much better than theirs. Noire could have made the shots easy, but she was the squad's sniper for a reason, after all. Exhaling, Morgan squeezed the trigger three times, firing in short and controlled bursts. Most of the shots went wide, but one of the enemy did cry out and drop to the ground, a burst of red coming from his thigh.

"Damn, I was aiming for his chest," Morgan muttered as her rifle clicked dry.

As she ducked back into cover Severa was already taking up a similar position, firing from the lip of the flower bed the way Morgan had. This sustained onslaught, while absolutely pathetic in military terms, still caused the amateur attackers to retreat to the relative safety behind their vans.

Behind their vans and directly into the crossfire that Kjelle and the others had set up.

Shots began flying from the nearby alleyways as the rest of Morgan's squad unloaded into the stunned attackers. The surviving men and women began to panic, running away towards the main road, the five attackers running so that the vans were between them and Kjelle's group.

"Dammit, take them out before they make it into the city!" Morgan shouted, rising to her feet.

If even one of them got away innocent lives could still be lost…

The resounding crack of a high caliber rifle sounded three times, and three of the attackers dropped. Morgan's eyes went wide as, instead of the City Guard she'd been expecting three Paladin bikes rolled up to the square. An older man in a long black leather trench coat jumped off the first one, pulling two pistols out from beneath his coat, one in each hand. He didn't even need to. One perfect shot to the head of each remaining attacker before they could take so much as another step towards the street.

The man that had been driving the Paladin stepped off, too, an ornate broadsword hanging from his hip beneath his Ylissean army jacket.

"Spread out!" Prince Chrom shouted. "Shepherds, secure the square! Frederick, just like we planned!"

One of the other Paladin riders nodded, accelerating hard and sliding around the corner.

"Everyone, see to the citizens! Robin, check on the kids!"

Morgan sagged against the flower bed as the Shepherds began to pile into the square, securing the vans and checking the storefronts for survivors.

"Well, we did it," Severa sighed, sitting on the lip of the flower bed next to Morgan. "I ruined my new sweater and my favorite boots, but we did it."

There was a loud sound of engines from above them as two Pegasus jet-bikes zoomed overhead, Severa narrowing her eyes at the sight. Across the square the rest of the squad were starting to materialize out of the alleys now, passing on any information about where the civilians were hiding and what the number of wounded were like to the Shepherds.

"Well, at least you're not fixing any holes in them. Trust me, bullet holes are a bitch to fix. Why do you think I send all my old clothes to Morgan?"

The two girls glanced up, the man in the coat beaming down at them.

"Hi honey," Robin added, grinning at his daughter. "For future reference when faced by more numerous and better armed foes the standard operating tactic is to retreat. But I'll save that lecture for another day. You did a good job today. I'm proud of you."

Morgan nodded, grinning a little. "What took you so long, dad? We were running out of stuff to shoot."

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I know, this isn't the update my readers were expecting or hoping for… And before anyone freaks out, no Owain-Ophelia and Inigo-Soleil are not related. Because of AU tags. I have no idea where the hell the idea for this came from. Probably a cross of** _ **Valkyria Chronicles**_ **and** _ **Final Fantasy Type 0**_ **. And really, who doesn't love AU school stories? So in case y'all couldn't tell, this is an AU cross-over between** _ **Awakening**_ **and** _ **Fates**_ **. Because I could. With a little** _ **Tokyo Mirage Sessions**_ **and** _ **Advance Wars**_ **thrown in for good measure, because why the f*ck not? (** _ **Advance Wars**_ **is by Intelligent Systems, too, I reserve the right to exercise my artistic ability here) I purposely didn't throw any of the child characters from** _ **Genealogy**_ **into the mix because I'm not as comfortable with them, fyi. I wanted to, though.**

 **What'd you think? Let me know, and Nagaspeed!**


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